by Angela Taffs | Aug 26, 2022 | Starting a Business
Would you like to make money from home? Whether as a full-time career or just to earn a little extra cash, who wouldn’t like to make more money and have some extra cash in their back pocket?
The level of desire will depend on your individual circumstances. If you are in a decent job and leading a comfortable lifestyle, you may want to make some extra cash on odd occasions by selling excess items from around the home.
However, if you find your household income suddenly reduced, as I did a few years ago, the matter becomes more pressing and quick, simple ideas need to be actioned quickly. And with soaring fuel and energy bills at the moment, many of us are looking for ways to increase our income to help with the strain on the household budget.
The best way I have found to make money is to find something you enjoy doing and turn that hobby into something profitable (selling on eBay was not something I enjoyed at all!!!!!).
These days, working from home seems to be what increasing numbers of people are talking about. Working from home seems like a great situation. The problem is trying to find ways to earn money that you enjoy doing and is sustainable for the long term.
Ideas how to make money from home
Sell your skills
Everyone has a skill that someone else either can’t do or doesn’t have the time for. It’s time to start thinking of these skills as a viable way to make money from home. Advertise your skills in your neighbourhood. Maybe you could do the ironing, dog walking, gardening or babysitting.
Create an online course
What do you know that others would love to learn? Create an online course and sell. This can be done in a variety of ways.
- Video yourself teaching your expert subject
- Create a written course or ebook
- Record a PowerPoint presentation with a voice over
Online courses can be a great way of making money from home as once you have your course created, it can be sold repeatedly and with no limit on how many you sell. Also, there will be minimal additional costs once you have the initial set-up done and dusted.
Turn your hobby into a business
What do you love doing in your spare time? What do you never get tired of doing? There are so many hobbies and yours will be personal to you but here are a few ideas:
- Love baking – sell cakes
- Writing – offer blog writing services
- Playing music – teach others online or in person
- Gardening – offer gardening services in your local area
- Photography – offer photography services and sell images to stock photo companies
- Crafting – sell at craft fairs or online on handmade sites such as Etsy and Not on The High Street
Become a freelancer
Freelancers tend to work with business clients rather than the general public. In the same way as thinking what hobbies you love doing above, what aspects of your job, current or previous, did you enjoy the most and/or were best at?
This could be things such as:
- Graphic design
- Writing
- Organising events
- Bookkeeping
- Web design
- Social media
- and the list goes on …..
Think about services you could offer to businesses on a freelance basis. And if you have a wide variety of skills consider becoming a Virtual Assistant.
Sell on eBay
Who doesn’t have a treadmill or box of clothes sitting somewhere collecting dust? Gather up all of the things that you don’t need anymore and sell them on eBay. Some people find that they really enjoy doing this and continue after they’ve cleaned their own house by purchasing things cheaply at garage sales and then reselling them on eBay. You can also buy things at wholesale prices that you can then turn around and sell for a higher cost.
Affiliate marketing
You can make money from home by recommending products. Affiliate marketing pays you a commission every time a person buys a product that you recommend. It’s usually done online so best if you have a website of your own that generates a decent level of traffic. The great thing about affiliate marketing is that once you’ve set up the process, you can keep earning money residually.
Multi-level marketing
Direct sales or multi-level marketing is another popular method to make money or start a home-based business. You will get a commission on products that you sell through direct sales. You can also choose a multi-level marketing (MLM) system which pays commissions through several levels of sales reps. Whichever method of sales you prefer, there are hundreds of products you can choose to sell. You can sell anything from books to vitamins to skin care.
If you decide to go down this route, do your due diligence. There are too many companies that will lure you in with the promise of high levels of income that are highly likely never to materialise.
By now you should have some idea of what you want to do. Don’t forget there will be rules and regulations you will need to follow when starting a home based business that you will need to abide by.
And remember you should always try to have fun when you work from home. It will keep you motivated to keep earning. Good luck with whatever you choose to do.
*Do you need a little help to get your idea off the ground? Become a member of The Small Business Kit today.
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by Angela Taffs | Jan 27, 2022 | Starting a Business
If you have a day job and want to go self-employed, how do you make the transition from being employed to leaving and going full time into your own business?
This can be such a difficult one to answer but affects so many trying to juggle the security of a day job and the desire to run their own business.
On a personal level, I decided to make the jump and left my career to start my own business as I was in the position to fund the business myself for the first few years. Yes, I admit, over the years when things have been tough, I’ve wondered whether I made the right decision. But 99.9% of the time, I am happy I made the jump. It took me a good few years to become financially viable enough to draw a full-time wage but this was offset in the early days of being my own boss, choosing my working hours and where I worked from.
But you don’t have to make the jump as drastically as I did. This will depend upon your current career and what business you are planning to set up, but many clients I have worked with have decided to go self-employed and start their business in their spare time and then moved to working part-time in employment whilst building the business. It takes time but can work better financially if you have some steady income still coming in.
Why do you want to go self-employed?
One key thing that can help you decide is to think carefully about ‘WHY’ you want to go self-employed and start your own business.
If you don’t know what your ‘WHY’ is start by making a list of reasons you want to start your own business.
Common reasons are:
- To have a flexible lifestyle that puts you in control of your life
- Better work life/balance
- More time with family and friends
- You choose when and where you work
- You are passionate about your product and service and know how much it can help others
- To be paid on the effort you put in – you take all the profit yourself
- To remove stress, frustration, and unhappiness in your current job
It can also be useful to list the reasons ‘WHY’ you want to leave your current career. Again, common reasons are:
- Not feeling valued
- Unhappy at work with long/restrictive hours
- Frustration that you know the job could be done better but you are tied by company policy
- Undue stress due to workload
- Bad management, unhappy with co-workers etc
- Feeling short changed with your salary compared to the effort you put in
By writing these things down it can help you get clear on why you really want to go self-employed and give you the motivation to take that first step.
There isn’t a perfect answer and it will be different for everyone, but here are a few ideas to help get you towards making that first step to go self-employed.
Give yourself a deadline to go self-employed
Firstly, set yourself a deadline of when you want to leave your employment and make that jump into self-employment. If you don’t, the security blanket of a monthly wage may just hold you back from ever making the leap.
Give long term notice
If it is possible, give your employer long term notice. Let them know you are wanting to set up on your own but don’t want to let them down and they may just be understanding (as long as you’re not going into competition with them). It’s a win for you as you now have your deadline and need to build your own business to sustain you by the time you leave and it’s a win for them as they have longer to find a suitable replacement and get them trained up.
Go part time
If possible go part-time. No, it’s not always possible and your employer may not be too keen if they get wind you are setting up something of your own, but if you don’t ask you don’t get!
Take up temporary work
Make the decision to leave your employment but line up some temporary work for 6 months somewhere else to help the finances whilst you get off the ground. Look for maternity cover positions which would be an ideal timescale for this option.
Start saving
If you can save up enough to cover your outgoings for six to 12 months, this will help provide that much needed financial buffer that you need. Having 6 months of savings and also getting systems in place so your time can be spent finding clients and not getting it ‘off the ground’ will be worth its weight in gold.
Cash in on savings
Do you have any savings pots, pension funds, long-hidden premium bonds etc that you are willing to cash in to support your business financially in the early days? If you do and you are not prepared to cash them in, I have to ask the question how committed are you to your business and do you really believe in it. Harsh yes, but when I hear women say they need that money in case the business fails, they are already admitting defeat.
Take a holiday
This is a holiday in the loosest sense of the word. What I mean is take a holiday but work your butt off to see how many clients you can get during this time. Book appointments in advance if you are in the service sector. See how much money you make. Try to get these clients to book repeat sessions and to recommend you. This ‘holiday’ may just make you realise what you could do if you took the leap of faith and went for it.
Take the leap of faith
Yes, you have to be brave for this one but sometimes you simply have to do it. It will be a sink or swim situation but there is nothing like not having that security of employment to get you focused to bring the money in,
Get support when you have decided to finally go self-employed
If you need any help or support in taking that first step, or in setting up your business, get in touch now. Email me at
co*****@an********.com
, let me know what you are planning and I’ll send you something to help.
by Angela Taffs | Jun 4, 2019 | Business Success, Starting a Business
In an online forum that I’m in, the questions was asked ‘What’s
the best piece of advice you would give to a new entrepreneur today?’
There were some great answers, so I picked out a few to share with
you.
Don’t work without a contract, especially if you know them.
Yes! This was a hot
topic in a recent event that I hosted.
We can tend to work on trust with people we know such as family and friends
but this is invariably where things go wrong.
We never know what is around the corner and without a contract, long
standing relationships can be torn apart.
Invest in your business. Do not rely on free ANYTHING to grow your business
Now, I wouldn’t go so far as to say not rely on free anything,
but yes, if you are serious about your business, you are going to need to
invest. If you rely on free everything,
it is going to take forever to get where you want to be.
Stay consistent and remember to always take a break when you are feeling overwhelmed
Yep! Couldn’t agree
more. Consistency and persistency are
key. Too many give up too early after
trying a new tactic for a week or so without results. It takes time to build your visibility and
gain relationships.
And, yes, it is so important to take a break to rest, reflect
and recharge, particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed.
Take action sooner. Do not get stuck in a learning loop
How many courses and books have you studied but never fully
actioned? Far too many I suspect. Don’t fool yourself you are learning
more. There is no point learning
anything if you don’t take what you have learned and put it into action. I’ve read a book how to get a six pack but
still don’t have one because I don’t do the exercises!!
Have set time to work your business. It cannot be a hobby.
If you work ad hoc as and when you feel like it, don’t be
surprised when you get ad hoc results. Schedule
work time, get disciplined and work!
Never give up. And don’t take anything on board from people who want to
steal your dream. Associate with people who have drive and are positive in
their attitudes.
Oh, those dream stealers! They all want to quash your dream because they don’t have the courage to do what you are doing. They say you will act and become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose people wisely.
Schedule your free time first and always be firm about it. — Work will take
up as much time as you give it. So, schedule your free time first and then make
the space for work around that.
When you’re on your death bed, (sorry to bring morbidity
into this) I doubt you will say you wish you had spent more time at work. Get your priorities right. Block out time for friends and family and be
present with them 100%. You can always
make more money. You can’t get more
time.
Do your accounting and get everything setup correctly from the start!
Cash is king and is the one deciding factor on your business
success or failure. You must get a grip
on the finances. Very simply, you need
to know what money is coming in, what is going out and what is left. Profit determines success.
Be authentically you, don’t fall for the fake stats and trust your gut. You
got it…even when you doubt your ability…Keep on Pushing!
Yes, be you. You are
your business. There is no point trying
to be something you’re not as people will see through you as being fake.
You don’t need your website, business cards or a perfect branding strategy
before you start. You need to get started and keep showing up.
True! Yes, a website
and branding can help grow your business but to start with, just get out there
and start selling. There is the danger
of trying to get everything perfect before launching but this can take far too
long and cause you to miss valuable sales.
Every day do a little something to get you closer to your goal.
This is one of my favourites. If you take just one step each day, you will eventually be guaranteed to complete a marathon. Trying to do everything can seem overwhelming and so we end up doing nothing. Focus on one small thing each day and don’t give up.
Do you have something to add? Leave your comment below.
by Angela Taffs | Mar 20, 2018 | Angie's ramblings - The reality of working from home, Personal and Lifestyle, Starting a Business
A HOME OFFICE VERSUS AN OFF-SITE OFFICE
Which office type is best for your business?
Every company or business establishment have their own office space where customers or potential clients visit them to conduct business. An office is a place where all professional matters are handled and any business transactions are conducted. Having an office premise gives a professional image to a business and is preferable for many small business owners. However, some people find working at an office inconvenient because of commuting time, restricted opening hours if the office is within a shared building etc. Or, they may simply not be able to afford the premises. Therefore, many small business owners decide to run their business from a home office.
How do you choose?
Working from Home
Home-based business owners set up their home offices where they handle all work-related tasks. In fact, most set up their own home office where they can entertain clients and business associates at home. Many find this a convenient set-up since they can attend to their work while able to still spend time with their family.
However, with the accessibility of the comforts available within your home, it is easy to fall into the wrong idea that you are not working. Hence, you need to develop a sound level of self-discipline in order to separate business from pleasure and focus on what you need to do at work.
Which is better?
There are several considerations that one has to make before deciding whether to opt for a home office or an off-site office instead. Each one has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is difficult to conclude that one is the better option over the other. The best way for you to decide is to come up with a checklist of these pros and cons. Then, determine whether the pros outweigh the cons or vice versa.
Also, you need to consider your own attitude towards work. If you are the type of person who had to be constantly reminded and lacks the initiative to work on their own, then setting up a home office could be a devastating idea. Below are a list of pros and cons that would help you come up with a decision.
Home office: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- You have more freedom of flexibility in terms of working hours.
- You can reduce costs such as office rental, fuel usage (from driving to and from the office), and tax deductions.
- It is convenient since you won’t have to dress up just to get to work. You can have your breakfast or spend time with your family and then conveniently check your email.
Cons:
- If you’re the type who needs to get motivated to work, a home office might not be conducive to you getting your work done.
- There are a lot of potential interruptions at home.
- There are a lot of home office considerations to make such as securing all office equipment you need at home, office furniture, and some other operational needs.
Off-site office: Pros and Cons
Pros:
- The level of pressure and urgency motivates you to produce quality work.
- The working environment is ideally designed to make working easier for you.
- You have access to all of the equipment or tools you need to conduct your work.
Cons:
- You have to commute from and to work daily. It becomes more difficult for those who live far from the office.
- Dealing with other workers within the building can be difficult for some, especially with clashing interests and personalities.
- The expense of renting the premises
The decision is now yours as to which is best for you and your business. Whichever you choose, ensure you have everything you need to hand in your premises and make it a professional, yet comfortable place to work.
by Angela Taffs | Sep 24, 2017 | Business Success, Running a Business, Starting a Business
Do you suffer Bright Shiny Object syndrome?
You know the feeling. You are in the middle of something, maybe doing some research on a project you are working on. And then you see it. First a little twinkle out the corner of your eye. And then it turns into this wonderful bright shiny object that simply demands your attention.
Sound familiar?
We’ve all been there. And this Bright Shiny Object is the best thing since sliced bread. Until ….. you see another one. Oh, what to do. So many shiny things to chase after!!!!
Now, these distractions can be just for a few minutes. Even in this situation, you are going to lose so much time trying to refocus on what you were originally working on. But the worst case is when this takes you down a new track and you leave your old plans unfinished.
The danger point is that you keep chasing new things and never actually complete anything. Therefore, you never get the results you set out to achieve and so the vicious cycle of chasing another BSO continues.
Here are my three top tips to help deal with the distractions.
Determine your end goal
Firstly, what is your end goal? Keep looking at your plan and make sure that everything you do takes you towards to your goal, not away from it. It is too easy to get side tracked and led astray so by referring to your plan on a regular basis you can make sure you keep on track and focused on what you ultimately want to achieve.
Yes, you are bound to get caught up with other ideas as you grow your business, but if you keep stopping and starting something new, you will never get anything finished. You will end up confusing yourself and ultimately, your clients!!
Commit the bright shiny object to paper
Whenever you have a new idea pop up, write it down. Have an ideas book or board. Pop everything on here. And then sit on it!! Wait for a few days at least and then come back to it. Does it still look so attractive? Are you still fired up by it? Is it going to take you closer to your end goal or is just a distraction?
Make a date in your diary
If you decide you still want to go ahead with it, don’t start until you have finished what you were working on before this new idea came up. Your old idea will have been important enough for you to start on, so make sure you complete that first. You may just find that when you have completed what you were already working on, you have found yet another bright shiny object and so your last idea has lost its attraction.
Focus on one thing at a time, do it, and do it well. Then you can move on to the next.
Do you suffer from BSO syndrome? Share with me in the comments below.
by Angela Taffs | Jan 16, 2017 | Business Success, Starting a Business
Would you love to start a business but don’t think it’s possible?
Have you always dreamt of setting up your own business but the thought of entering the big wide world of entrepreneurship simply scares you more than Freddy Kruger popping in for supper on Friday 13th?
Would you love to escape the humdrum of working 9 to 5, being told where to be at what time, when you can eat and when you are allowed to take much needed time off with your family?
Well, your dream to start a business needn’t be so scary. In fact, whilst it will undoubtedly be hard work, it can also be quite exciting and give a new lease of life that leaves you energised and looking forward to each day.
But first things first. There are a few things to consider if you want to make your journey as smooth as possible and go from fearful to fabulous.
What’s your passion?
The start-up businesses that have the best chance of success are those that are based on a passion that will carry you through the difficult times. Doing something you love day in and day out doesn’t feel like work. It feels like fulfilment.
So, think hard about what you love doing. What can you see yourself doing in 10 years and still loving?
What are you good at?
Now here is the tough question! What are you good at? It’s no good having a passion for something but not being very good at it. People simply won’t part with their hard-earned cash.
Putting passion and talent together, I know that I love walking my dog, but keeping her under control is a challenge and I am sure if I tried to start a dog walking business, my passion would turn into a chore. You need to think about this carefully. It’s no use starting a gourmet burger bar if your cooking skills are akin to flipping burgers at McDonalds, no matter how much you love being in the kitchen.
What will people pay for?
The third piece of the start a business jigsaw is considering what people will pay for, and enough people to make you a profit. You may love crocheting tea cosy’s but if everyone is now making individual cups of tea rather than using a tea pot, you are not going to make any money from your business idea.
I started my business consultancy because I have an absolute passion for helping other women build a life and income stream that gives them the freedom to do what they have always dreamt of. I knew I was good at this as I had a proven track record of helping hundreds of people start up and build their own successful business. And I knew that if people were serious about their business, they would willingly pay to get the help and support they needed to kickstart their success.
So now you have your idea to start a business. But what next? There are a few key steps you need to take if you really want to give yourself the best chance of success.
Self-belief
The first step is self-belief. You must:
- Believe you are good enough
- Believe what you sell is worth it
- Believe that your clients will gladly pay you
Because quite simply if you don’t believe in yourself and what you are doing, then why the hell should anyone else? This can be a real challenge for women starting their business so take the time to write down all things you have achieved in your life, all the compliments you have received, qualifications you have gained etc. Look at this on a regular basis and start to believe in yourself.
Create a plan
Remember the adage ‘fail to plan, plan to fail’. Yes? Well it applies to you when you start a business.
It’s all too easy to become so enthused and excited about your new idea that you dive in without any real thought and planning. This invariably leads to a rude awakening down the line.
You need to plan:
- How much you want to earn
- Your capacity for how much you can make
- What hours you are going to work
- Who you need to help you and what resources you need
- How much it is going to cost to get your idea off the ground and to keep it running
- What you are going to charge
- How much profit you will make (and will this be enough for you to live off)
- How you are going to be better and/or different from your competitors to stand out from the crowd
- Who is going to buy your product or service and how you are going to get them to know about it
- How you are going to take payment and deliver to your customer
Test your idea
To minimize the risk of failure, try testing your business idea out on a small scale before going all in. This will provide you with valuable feedback as to whether others love your idea as much as you do and if they are willing to pay for it. You can then tweak your idea if necessary and minimise the risk of a spending far too much blood, sweat and tears on something that simply isn’t going to work.
If you are currently in a day job, by testing your idea out of working hours on a smaller scale, you can continue to earn a salary to pay your household bills each month and ease the financial pressure whilst getting your business off the ground.
Seek advice
If you’re serious about starting your own business and making it a success, find yourself someone who has been there and done it and made it a success to help you on your path. Trying to go it alone will be both be lonely and quite likely a very expensive mistake. Find someone with the experience and independent perspective to help you steer clear of the numerous start-up mistakes so many make.
If you follow these top tips then you can start a business. It ain’t gonna be easy. It’s going to be a rollercoaster of a ride. I remember the days of going from a feeling of euphoria that I was going to be a millionaire by the end of the year to the depths of despair that I was going to be bankrupt by the end of the month all in the space of 5 minutes! But if you are brave enough to hang on tight, you will make it to the end and the feeling of achievement will be worth every single bit.
There is nothing better than working on your terms, at the hours you want, and setting your own ceiling of income to live the life you have always dreamt of.
I’m one of the lucky ones. I have survived the hard times. I now have a business and life that I simply love and could not be happier. If you would like me to help you build the same for yourself, take a look at all The Small Business Kit has to offer.
